I ask Father Curtis E. John, “Should we go straight on Highway 6 or turn left?” If we continue straight, there is the city.  Should we turn left, the corn gives way, first to white ash and the sounds of the great horned owl, then to tall grass, and finally to cattails.”  We take the road less traveled, and go fishing and swimming at Oak Lake. As we come upon Oak Lake Father Curtis E. John says:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x_rwyBh-8]Your cousin Delvery is coming fishing, and he has a fishing hook just the right size for your mouth. You’ll love the taste of that hook as it brushes your cheeks and roughens your teeth.    You’ll love it so much that you will try to hook others. I have never been much for fishing, at least compared to him.    Your cousin Delvery is a carpenter who loves fishing, and farming.    He has a reputation for hiking and helping others with a new strange and powerful brand of herbal medicine. He will make you an expert builder.    You’ll learn about beams and columns, all about nails and lashing as well as measuring to fit.    You’ll learn about trees. Your cousin Delvery is unlike us.    We are crabs, strong, crusty outer shell, and very soft inside.    We are fast to pinch others at the slightest provocation and are easily frightened.    We expect others to do likewise to us.

Brother Delvery will teach you to be more like the cherry tree. Your fruit will be sweet, and beautiful to see. You will be soft on the outside with sensitive leaves and leavings, memories of you when you leave them. Yet, you will be strong in faith, reaching ever upward to the sky. Yet, like the roots of the tree, you will spend time in the dark earth, whether it is at church or at home, mediating on the will of God.

The sun has finished three quarters of its arch through the sky as Charles Liston and Father Curtis E. John fish at Salt Lake.    Downstream, others swim and throw themselves off of a tire which is tied to a tree.    Someone says, “Look, its Father Curtis E. John.”    A large crowd of people run over, expecting Father Curtis E. John to do his preaching thing.  

In the meantime Father Curtis and our hang around group have a great time swimming in the lake. As we come out of the water, this presence arrives.    He seems to be ten feet tall, but walks under a branch less than six feet high, and does so without bending.    The birds sing and the rocks dance as he approaches.    The green leaves blaze in a fire which does not scorch or burn. A large group of men are with him.